Abstract
Shigella flexneri is a Gram‐negative human adapted pathogen that causes bacillary dysentery. A hallmark of Shigella infection is the ability to invade the colonic epithelium, which requires a 220 kB virulence plasmid. Encoded on the plasmid are the components of a type‐III secretion system that contribute to host cell invasion and virulence. While invasion has been thoroughly investigated, understanding of the host immune response to Shigella infection and how Shigella subverts aspects of this response is not well understood due the lack of appropriate animal models. Our objective is to establish Drosophila melanogaster as a suitable model to study the innate immune response against S. flexneri infection. To mimic human infection, we established a feeding method whereby Drosophila ingests S. flexneri orally. Sterile filter disks were soaked in a solution containing sucrose, yeast and fresh Shigella (108–109), and were placed on top of normal fly food. Using this method we determined that ingestion of S. flexneri produces an intestinally localized lethal infection that is dependent on the Shigella virulence plasmid. Moreover, the survival rate of flies exposed to S. flexneri was found to be dose‐dependent. These results indicate that Drosophila is susceptible to S. flexneri infection and can be further exploited as a model to study the key elements involved in the innate immune response against this infection. Funding: NIH
Published Version
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